Grow your own chicken (& duck) protein for free…
Over the chicken raising years I’ve tried plenty of different ways to get heathy protein (they are not vegetarians) into my birds. Meal worms were fun but quite a bit of work and the window for harvesting them was quite small each year. I do have a highlight all about this though on my Insta profile page, so check that out if you are interested.
So, after a lot of researching, I’ve got a black solider fly larvae set-up going.
These flies are not your common house fly; however you may ‘catch’ a few of those and end up with added maggots from them too.
The black soldier flies are around in central Portugal from spring until autumn (basically the hotter parts of the year). They are super nutrient dense and a VERY high protein source for the birds.
You basically put a smaller box (with a hole up one end) inside a large box. The smaller box is at an angle, and the lower part is full of coffee grinds (they absorb moisture), some corrugated cardboard (for the flies to lay eggs in) and food waste (to attract the flies – these flies will eat almost anything). You then put a lid over the box that is cracked open with a stick or something like that at one end (to allow the flies to get in) and a weight on the lid (to stop anything else getting in).
The set-up should not be in direct sunlight, somewhere dark and humid will work best.
The flies, fly into the box, lay their eggs and when the eggs hatch they larvae crawl upwards (hence the inner box being at an angle) and fall out the hole you have made in that box and into the bigger box. If you want you can set-up a self-service buffet and not have the outer box at all, but I want to see what’s working and what’s not so I’ve not done this.
From egg laying to larvae it only takes 3-4 days and then it will usually take another 6-16 days for them to crawl up (which is when they want to pupa) and fall through your hole ready for eating. The time is very dependant on weather conditions and time of year.
I’ve got several posts here and on my website about feeding chickens and other farm animals for free, so if this topic interests you do check them out. My aim is not to have to buy any food for any animal in 2-3 years’ time maximum.
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